Lancaster Wars
The Lancaster Wars is a series of conflict between the cities of Mirith and Andris that occurred from Years 425 - 426. Gordon Lancaster, a Senator of Andris, started the war by having another Senator killed and then blaming Mirith for the murder. Lancaster desired to become supreme ruler of Andris, and after that, the world. The city of Marali was unable to fight in the war, as it became overrun by Alliance forces under the command of the Twins. The Coming of War The now famous Blue Moon Festival first occurred in Year 425. At the end of the festivities, the body of Senator Waltham was found inside the city. Near his corpse was a torn piece of cloth that bore the royal seal of Mirith. Not long afterwards, Lancaster announced that the cloth was matched with the uniform of Zexe, the Royal Guard of Mirith. The recently joyous Hall of Government in Andris became sombre as Lancaster and his general, Robertson, began to recruit an army. Senator Morgans then travelled to Mirith, formally requesting that Zexe be brought to Andris for a fair trial. The Mirithian authorities refused, as Zexe was in critical condition after having sustained an unhealable wound from the Twins. Morgans left Mirith emptyhanded. Her return trip didn't go so well either. Her escort was found dead, and Morgans herself was missing. Lancaster then gave his ultimatum: if Mirith didn't allow Zexe to have a trial in Andris, then Mirith would be seen as harboring a fugitive and Andris would go to war. With Zexe incapacitated, Birek McCalla of Marali became the new temporary Royal Guard. Amalphus Vei, then negotiator for Mirith, attempted to mediate the issue in Andris. However, the meeting bore no fruit and the two cities were moving closer and closer to war. The Betrayer of Andris Tensions erupted into all-out war once Lancaster threw Senator Anderson and Timlaer of the Roman Empire into prison. Birek McCalla led the Mirithian forces that gatherd to free the prisoners. They met Lancaster's army of mercenaries outside the Andris jail. The battle was nearly lost by Mirith, but by the day's end, Anderson and Timlaer were freed and they returned with Birek to Mirith. There Anderson had a reunion with Morgans, who had been out of the public eye since her disappearance after her visit to Mirith. There it became publicly known that Lancaster had sent a force of mercenaries to kill Morgans on her return trip to Andris. With the help of Zara, Morgans survived and fled to Mirith. The battle at Andris was a hollow victory, however. On the same day, Zexe had been killed by Elefin, then leader of the Black Hand who had pretended to be a friend of Mirith. Morgans and Anderson were granted asylum by King Galandir and Birek was appointed permanent Royal Guard in Zexe's abcense. Scouting out Andris, the new Royal Guard learned that Lancaster had sealed up the city and that there was a new general: Vanderbilt. More and more mercenary troops were pouring into Andris. It was clear that Lancaster intended to go on the offensive. Lancaster's next move was a massive invasion of the nearby Port Gast. A small force from Mirith journeyed to the port in order to evacuate the citizens, but instead they came upon a combined troop of Lizard Men and mercenaries. Everyone that lived in the town was massacred. It was Mirith's move next. Birek led a charge on Andris again, hoping to gain access to the city and end the war that day. Unforunately for him, the brigand leaders Clara and Jefferson thwarted the Mirithian assualt. Birek and the Mirith army returned to their own city in defeat. On another occasion at Lizard Island, Roman was captured by the Lizard King, who revealed why the lizards were assisting Lancaster: the Lizard Men desired to return to their ancestral lands where the humans now resided. In the days to come, the war spread further throughout Oberin. Lancaster's forces massacred the villagers of Gohoran. Marali became overrun by the Twins. Tuck and Grindan, two Mirithians, joined the ranks of Lancaster and went so far as attempting to kill King Galandir, but they instead were killed by Birek and thrown in jail. When the day of the traitors' execution came, they were freed by the Twins and taken to an underground cave near Duldrus. The Twins gave them the Golden Fleece, an item that Lancaster desired, so that the dictator would come looking for Tuck and Grindan. The Twins left them inside the cave, where they waited until they were found by the spinning rogue Darkstar, who instructed the two to infiltrate Andris and help end the war. Eventually Clara found Tuck and Grindan inside the cave and brought them to Andris, where they remained for some time, assisting Lancaster. Finally the day came that Tuck and Grindan were given a special mission. Along with Jefferson and Clara, the two spies located Serene, the heir of Elara. Lancaster needed Serene to activate the Curio, which could grant him awesome powers. Tuck and Grindan were joined by Vanderbilt and guarded Serene in a fort constructed near Mirith. Lancaster was supposed to come soon to retrieve the girl. Instead, a Mirithian army came to destroy the fort and fighting ensued. Seeing that he was on the losing end, Vanderbilt announced that he would take Serene and flee the vicinity. Before he left, he passed his armor to Tuck for repairs, and instead, Tuck and Grindan picked up their weapons and slayed Lancaster's general. Rejoining the Mirithians, Tuck and Grindan carried Serene back to Mirith where she was kept safe. Disaster and Victory A third invasion of Andris was again planned by Birek. Birek went alone to Andris to try to convince Lancaster that Vanderbilt wasn't dead, but was instead kept as a prisoner in Mirith. However, Lancaster learned of Birek's plan through the use of a rudimentary black magic spell that Beleth, the Mirith Royal Mage, was able to negate. But it was too late. Birek was long gone before Beleth knew of the spell's existence, and the Royal Guard was doomed to fail. He was captured and the army of Mirith went to try and rescue him. At the gates of Andris, they were met by Clara. She announced that Andris would hand over Birek if Mirith gave Serene to Lancaster. Not willing to comply to Lancaster's demands, another plan was formulated. A large amount of explosives were gathered and used to demolish a portion of the Andris wall that had been previously damaged by a dragon attack. The city was stormed and Birek was freed. The Mirithians intended to close in on Lancaster, when an alarm from Mirith brought them back. While the army was attacking Andris, and Mirith was left unprotected, Elefin and the Twins had been to Mirith. There, the Duchess Tirana (sister of Galandir) took Araine, the daughter of Beleth, as a hostage. This allowed Elefin and the Twins to take Serene, as Beleth was unwilling to give up his daughter's life for Serene. However, Beleth's cooperation couldn't save his daughter. Once Serene was in the hands of Elefin, Tirana slit Araine's throat and fled with the other leaders of the Black Hand. Ironically, it was the Twins that would soon indirectly assist in the downfall of Lancaster. Tired of Elefin's leadership of the Black Hand, the Twins wished to depose of the wizard. The Twins had just invaded Marali, and it was inside the ruined city in which a conversation took place between the Twins and some Mirithians. The Mirithians agreed to leave Marali to the Twins' devices in exchange for the exact date and time in which Elefin would be coming to Mirith in the near future. The army would distract Elefin so that Darkstar could steal the Blood Dagger, the source of Elefin's power. The wizard Seth would then destroy the Dagger. Everything went more or less according to the plan, and Elefin was killed and Zexe's soul was released, allowing him to be resurrected. It was then discovered that Elefin had casted protective magic on the walls of Andris. With her magic gone, Andris could be invaded. Zexe and Birek led the charge on the now-unprotected city. Lancaster fled into a cave deep beneath the city, carrying Serene with him. When he was finally cornered, he used Serene's power to activate the Curio and created a massive icy abode: the Ice Dungeon. There he fled and the army of Mirith followed. After a long battle, Lancaster was finally slain within his creation. Serene, barely alive, was carried back to Mirith and was healed, although she was deeply scarred from her experience. With Lancaster gone, the war was over. Although it was not without its price: the Twins were now occupying Marali. Category:Historical Event